<p>Nicole Astra:<br />TalkingCities today is on the campus of Aurora University, talking to their Head Football Coach. Now, if you are a sports fan, he does not need any introduction. Don Beebe spent nine years in the NFL with six Super Bowl appearances.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Is it possible to separate this career into a few favorite moments for you?<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Oh man. Playing or coaching?<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Playing.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Okay.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Let's start with playing.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Playing, I have a few of them. The first time I ever stepped on a football field in a Buffalo Bills uniform was in September of 1989. The first play that ever went my way was a 63-yard bomb touchdown from Jim Kelly, so it was a heck of a way to break into the NFL.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Right.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />But my favorite memory, it's not the Leon Lett play by the way-<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />[crosstalk 00:00:52] Which is why I tell my boys not to showboat, ever-<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Yes.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />... on the field. Yeah.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Yes. Yes. Winning the Super Bowl with Packers after losing four with Buffalo.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Yeah.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />And then finally winning one with Green Bay. Being on the field right behind Brett Favre, standing 10 yards behind him, and then going up to him when the game was over and realizing, "Oh my gosh. I finally won this crazy thing." Right? Getting the game ball, Brett gave me the game ball, I literally went right over to the stands and where my wife was sitting and Amanda and Chad who were four and two at that time, and gave them the game ball and big hugs and kisses, and I got to carry my two kids off the field.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Mm (affirmative).<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />That's a memory that I don't think anybody can forget.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Right. Was coaching always part of your plan? I mean, think back to when you were a younger man. I know mentoring has always been important to you-<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Yeah.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />... but did you always know you would coach?<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />When I was seven, I gave my heart to Lord and I knew that I wanted to play sport and I wanted to play for the Lord. As I got older and then I retired from playing sport, then I thought, "Man. I can't play this sports anymore. What am I going to do?" And I just figured, "You know what? Just always follow what God's gifted you at." And so I knew I was going to mentor kids. That was a calling of mine to do that, and sports.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />So then I started House of Speed, a company that trains athletes. And I did that for 23 years. And then six years into training athletes, I wanted to be... I felt called to be more on an intimate level, on a daily basis, of being around kids. And so then that's when I took the Aurora Christian job. And then now it's morphed into this job.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />And many people have said, "Well, why don't you coach in the NFL?" And I'm like, "Well, I had opportunities to do that and major college, but I have four kids and my awesome wife that I love to be around and I just wouldn't have been able to do that." So I just turned them down and I have no regrets.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Well, and let me tell you Don, you know this, but your reach is far beyond the football field.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Yeah.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />And why I invited you to have a chat with us on TalkingCities, not only because you are a great man in Aurora serving, but because the men you are currently mentoring right now on the football field-<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Yeah.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />... they have taken in my three boys and they are mentoring them. Man, I want to know the real scoop. What are they like on the field?<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Well, first of all, Ishmiel is... has the best double move as a wide receiver, maybe I've ever seen.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Nice.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />Yeah. So, and he is a character. And Jackson, you look at the two of them, they're like completely different body types.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Yep.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />And Jackson is just.... he's one of our starting tight ends and he's just a great football player. But more importantly, I really care about their off the field and who they are. This might sound crazy, but it's the truth. We got 166 players in our team right now.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />Wow.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />And I can't think of one knucklehead. I mean, they're all really good kids. And some of them are like high level character, just great guys. And these are two of the guys that you'll meet. And I always interview every person before they come onto the team. And these two were here before I got here. And I interviewed every kid and Jackson was pretty solid young man at that time. And Ish was in a dark place.<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />I mean, Ish... I don't know if you know his story, but he's... I've got a lot of great stories. He's one of my favorite. Where he's came from in Tampa, in the upbringing that he had. And then I knew Ish and I saw in his eyes a dark person. And then he goes on this retreat with Jackson and he came back completely different. And I always say I can, I just... I don't know what it is. You can just see Christ in people. You see it in their eyes, you just see it in their actions. Their smile. And Ish came back completely different. And he had this gleam in his eye and I was like, "Oh, man. Wow. He was touched by the spirit of God."<br /><br />Don Beebe:<br />So it's really cool. And now he's just paying it forward to the kids. And it's neat to see kids, or guys... I call them guys because in high school they're kids, they're no more guys anymore. They're men. Young men. Just take the initiative in their busy schedules as a division 3 athlete to just go out in the community and help. And I know he has... both of these guys have great hearts.<br /><br />Nicole Astra:<br />I had the chance to sit down with Aurora University football players Ishmiel Penn and Jackson Howarth, to hear directly from them what they've learned, beyond the game, from Coach Beebe. Head on over to the TalkingCities' Facebook page to continue the conversation.</p>